


Rituals of Courtship

by Cryzice



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catlad!Jason, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is Robin, M/M, Omega Jason Todd, Omega Verse, Redhead!Jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 04:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20058304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryzice/pseuds/Cryzice
Summary: Five things Dick used to court Jason with + one thing Jason used to court Dick with.





	Rituals of Courtship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WHUMPBBY](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WHUMPBBY/gifts).

> My fourth entry for omega Jason Todd week, Day Four (Thursday, 1st of August): Rare pair/crack ship | Forced bonding | Courtship.
> 
> Dedicated to WHUMPBBY, because all ideas of courting came from them.

  1. Flowers

Catlad is cute.

After three years, it really shouldn't come as a surprise, but it just suddenly hit him one day. Catlad - Jason - is really, really cute.

God knows he shouldn't, but Dick has never been good at refraining from doing things he shouldn't. So yeah, it took a few years, but he eventually realized that Catlad is cute, and Dick would really like to kiss him. On the mouth. For as long as possible. With tongue.

And when Dick sees a blue flower almost exactly the same nuance as Jason's eyes, he buys it and the one dollar and fifteen cents are possibly the most well-spent money he has ever paid to be able to see Jason smile and blush red enough that his face and his hair couldn't be told apart.

It's the start of possibly the weirdest courtship ever, spanning over ten years, one death, countless near deaths and one revival. 

  1. Candy/chocolate/cakes/cookies

Jason has a sweet tooth.

Dick only notices it after a few months of sometimes fighting and sometimes working together with Catwoman and Catlad.

Whenever they cross paths or just see each other across the distance, Jason always has something in his mouth, be it a caramel, a lollipop, ice cream, candy canes, or cookies.

Had it been anyone else, Dick would probably have scolded them on the danger of fighting and eating something, but Jason always manages to finish whatever he is eating before any actual fighting, and besides, Jason is still somewhat unnaturally skinny, even for a young omega.

It's only natural that Dick starts to bring small pieces of sliced fruit on patrol. Selina is the closest to girlfriend Bruce has (Talia doesn't count, because yuck, _Talia_), and that makes them kind-of pack. Dick has an obligation to take care of Jason. He's an alpha, and that's what alphas do.

And if Jason smiles every time Dick hands him some of the fruit, that's just a bonus, not the aim.

  1. Jewelry

For being thieves, Selina and Jason wear very little jewelry. There has been occasions when they have, mostly for the balls Bruce "arranges" - it's really Alfred, but it's in the Wayne name, therefore everyone says Bruce does it even though he couldn't arrange a dinner party for two without Alfred- or after one of their heists.

One night, Dick just can't resist asking. "Why don't you wear any jewelry? I know you have at least some from your heists, but you never do."

Jason blinks at him. "Why should I?" he says. "For your information, I give away or sell more jewelry than I keep. There's no value to them, you know? I've kept the ones with actual value, like the bracelet from my first successful "heist" or the earrings I took off some lady at the first Wayne Ball I went to with Cat-mama."

Dick is still annoyed that Jason somehow managed to fool both him and Bruce that time. He must have spend half the ball just watching Jason, and he still missed it. "So if I gave you something, you would keep it?" he asks, intrigued.

Jason makes one of his "concentration" faces as he thinks. Dick has to almost sit on his hands to keep from stroking Jason's head. Eventually, Jason says, "yeah, probably," with an almost careless shrug.

In the years they have known each other, Dick has managed to become fluent in both Jason-speak and Bruce-speak. In this case, Jason is too shy to admit that he would keep whatever Dick gives him. He still has the pens Dick gave him for his last birthday tucked away in his room at Selina's house. Dick just happened to find them last time he visited to borrow one of Jason's books.

(That he doesn't actually read most of the time, but Jason always looks so happy when Dick asks to borrow one, even knowing that Dick isn't going to have the time to read any of them.)

Dick isn't actually that good at buying jewelry. He knows how to tell if a bracelet or earrings or necklace is worth the price, but that's from Bruce's training at how to recognize forgeries. His mother had a few pieces of jewelry, but nothing that would stand out, only her wedding ring and some earrings that his dad gave her as a gift before Dick was born.

To his embarrassment, he has to ask Selina what kind of jewelry Jason might like. She only teased him a little bit before giving him some basic explanation on omega fashion. It proved to be somewhat valuable for missions later on, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

But then again, nothing is a waste of time when it has to do with Jason.

  1. (bought) food

Alfred has started giving Dick Looks whenever Dick mentions Jason or Catlad in conversation, and it's starting to become embarrassing.

Even Bruce has caught on and made a very embarrassing speech on "safety" and "taking precautions" that left both of them very uncomfortable.

Babs, who is the most clear-headed person Dick knows, just rolls her eyes and pretends to listen.

Even the other titans have mentioned once or twice that Dick has a crush. Kori looked really sad, but then perked up and teased Dick extra much. Dick had wanted to talk to her, but then the alarm went off and there wasn't any time.

One time, Selina took pity on him and told him to ask Jason on a date "before Jason burst or something". Dick hadn't actually intended to do anything with that information - he trusts Selina more than he trusts most, but she is still Catwoman-, but then he thought about it and it was a really appealing idea.

Dick considers asking Jason to meet him at some restaurant, but it would probably feel still and unnatural. Sometimes, if Dick is monitoring some group or another and doesn't have the time to get food, Jason shows up with take-out, usually some burgers and fries.

Strictly speaking, it's not Alfred-approved, but Dick has never actually said anything about these nightly meals to Alfred. Alfred probably knows, because he's Alfred, but so far, he has never said that they can't.

One night, Dick gets some Thai from one of the restaurants still open and track down Jason. When he finds Jason a few minutes later hanging on one of the roofs, he only has to lift the take-out bag before Jason is coming over to grab a pair of chopsticks and a cartoon of rice.

It might not be exactly what Selina meant, but it feels right.

  1. Blankets

When Jason first comes back from the "dead", bringing with him a nine-year-old kid he referred to as Damian and claimed was Bruce's biological kid with Talia al Ghul, explaining that he isn't Catlad anymore - "Catlad died" was his only comment -, then offering to make Damian his successor, effectively implying that being Catlad was better than being Robin in front of Dick and Bruce's faces, Dick is torn between hysterically laughing because of how crazy it was and hysterically laughing because it was just so funny and bizarre. 

Things like this only happened to Jason. It was just so typical.

The first time Dick "visited" Jason's apartment, he was struck by how simple it was. Jason's room at Selina's house had been packed with books, random trinkets and the kind of fluffy blankets omegas love to use in their nests. The closet was full of shirts that Jason swam in because they were so large and Jason was tiny back then.

Jason's apartment looked more like one of Bruce's safe houses than a real apartment. Naturally, Dick bought a Nightwing blue blanket and brought it with him, then just handed it over to Jason without a word.

If Jason had asked, Dick would have said that it was for Damian, since the little guy would visit Jason almost once a week, but Jason just looked at him and wrapped it around himself without a word. Dick could have sworn he grew at least an inch.

The next time Dick stopped by to pick Damian up, he found them snuggling in the blanket Dick gave Jason in Jason's bedroom. Dick had to stop himself from just jumping in. Any lesser man probably would have, but Dick is proud to say that he has never forced himself upon anyone in his entire life and intends to continue that way.

Amazingly, when Jason had stirred, he hadn't just woken up Damian and sent them on their way. On the contrary, Jason had sleepily waved Dick in and lifted one of the corners for Dick to slip in on the other side of the bed.

When Dick went back to Bludhaven later that day, those precious moments in Jason's nest with Jason and Damian was enough to keep him happy despite meeting some really unpleasant people during his patrol. The only way it could have been better was if it had been in Dick's bed and it was their child sleeping between them.

+1. Home-cooked food.

The first time Jason visited Dick's apartment in Bludhaven, Jason had taken one look on what Dick called his "kitchen", but what was more like a fridge stuffed with take-out and milks and the cupboards filled to the brim with different kinds of cereals, and almost walked back out again.

To be fair, Jason had walked back out again, but only to come back later armed with black trash bags, some basic vegetables, spices, a pot and a pan, and some meat and fish. Most of the take-out went into the trash and into the garbage, and then Jason shooed Dick away to cook one of the best home-made meals Dick had ever tasted, second only to Alfred.

Two days later, Dick came home after a shift at Bludhaven P.D to find Jason stuffing the fridge with Dick's favorite dishes in clearly marked lunch boxes with Alfred's handwriting.

Jason just gave him a Look and turned back to putting fresh vegetables into a vegetable box Dick didn't recognize. "You're an idiot, and it's a miracle you have even stayed alive this long," he says. There is no actual malice in his words, though.

"Well, it's a good thing I have you to keep me alive then," Dick can't resist saying.

The omega shakes his head. "You're lucky I happen to like you."

If Dick had wings, he would be flying right now, but as it is, he is just overflowing with happiness. He literally can't stop himself from kissing Jason's cheek.

And there is the Blush, still the same after all this time.


End file.
